Alex Saab—a close associate and government official of Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro—has been extradited to the United States.
Venezuela’s immigration agency, SAIME, confirmed the extradition of the Colombian-Venezuelan businessman to the US yesterday, Saturday.
According to a US law enforcement official, Saab was arrested last February in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, during a joint operation conducted by US and Venezuelan law enforcement agencies. This arrest took place exactly one month after Nicolás Maduro himself was detained in Caracas during an operation by US special forces.
The arrest and subsequent extradition of Alex Saab are being viewed as a new level of cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two nations.
Such a cooperative relationship between the two countries is currently being observed under the leadership of Venezuela’s acting President, Delcy Rodríguez. Delcy previously served as Maduro’s Vice President.
Alex Saab, a 54-year-old Colombian-born businessman, was previously arrested in Cape Verde in 2020. At that time, he was detained in the US on charges of bribery.
Later, in 2023, the US released Saab under a special pardon as part of a prisoner exchange agreement in return for the release of American citizens detained in Venezuela.
Relevant sources indicate that the businessman could provide US authorities with crucial information to help strengthen the criminal cases brought against former President Maduro.
Notably, in January of this year, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken to New York to face charges related to various criminal offenses, including drug-terrorism conspiracies. However, both have denied all allegations leveled against them.
Attempts were made to contact Alex Saab’s attorney, Luigi Giuliano, regarding this extradition; however, no immediate comment was received from his office.
